I WON!

I rarely win anything, but I WON! A blog I follow is a great money saving blog with all kinds of tips and ideas and deals that are seriously helping my budget. She is really funny too, and she drives a Suburban, so I have to like her. Seriously, go check her out. It'll be fun. Yesterday she offered a can of Shelf Reliance taco TVP on her blog. I won!!! If you have no idea what Shelf Reliance is, take a look. I so want the can rotating systems. They also have tons of dehydrated, freeze dried, and other food, as well as lots of food storage and self reliance items. Need a year supply? You can order an entire year with one click. They make it super easy.

Back to my story. I had been planning to order a can of something at a time, just to see if the family would like it. If they won't eat it, it isn't food storage, just wasted space. Lo and behold, the fabulous Tiffany offers up a can of one of the exact items I wanted to try. Of course I was going to enter, but certainly not expecting to win. Thanks so much Tiffany for getting us started on this part of our food storage and year supply venture. If you need dish washing tabs or paper towels, we've got you covered.

Also, if you decide Shelf Reliance is for you, get up with Tiffany and place an order. She is a new consultant with Shelf Reliance, and I am all about supporting independent consultants. Pampered Chef, anyone? Call me :)

I Want this Blanket

Layla Grayce Blanket Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Go click this link for the softest looking blanket I think I have ever seen. I want this blanket for myself. My hooligans love soft blankets to snuggle with too. Do you think they would make it big enough to be a bed cover?

Can You Hear Me Smiling?

I went shopping tonight.

I went shopping tonight without kids.

I went shopping tonight without kids and took my time.

I went shopping tonight without kids and took my time and saved BIG TIME!

On the way home I called my fabulous husband to tell him about my escapades. He was less than impressed. Thanks to my great friend and incredible mom for sharing in my excitement. They could hear me smiling over the phone. Why was I smiling so huge that I had to call people and share, you ask?

Kroger has great deals this week. You get 10 items and automatically get $5 off your purchase. You can combine as well, so if you have 20 items you get $10 off. Not only are they great deals, they are name brands like Philadelphia cream cheese, Kraft cheese blocks and slices, Pop Tarts, DiGiorno, Edy's ice cream. Yeah, total score on that alone. Then, go and add some coupons on top. Yeah baby! Kroger is also doubling up to $.50, so double score.

The loot... 8 boxes Kraft Mac n Cheese, 2 large Jell-O Pudding, 2 Cream Cheese, 2 Kraft Pepper Jack blocks, 2 Kraft singles, 2 12 count Pop Tart, 2 Nestle chocolate chips, 1 DiGiorno flatbread (Tuscan Chicken, YUM), Edy's Mint Brownie Bites Overload. I also got Tyson boneless, skinless on a good sale and Tostitos chips for my fabulous husband to use with his favorite salsa that I have a stock of, but no chips with which to eat it.

The deals... multiple coupons on cream cheese, cheese, slice cheese, pop tart, chocolate chips, and DiGiorno.

In the ad you could purchase Playtex, Energiser, or Shick items and get $5 off your next purchase. Slight problem... the ad was a misprint and you had to spend $25 on participating products to get the deal. I walked my little self over and returned that Shick I didn't need but bought for $1 to get the coupon.

Grand total... about $25 for everything. SCORE!!!

I also hit it pretty good at Target. Now I get to build my own Coupon Notebook. Digging through my little envelope just didn't cut it tonight. Time to get more put together. Take some time, save some cash. Sounds good to me. And I really like the idea of shopping alone, even if it is when most people are going to bed.

Happy Valentine's Day... in September?

I was going back through my posts recently and putting labels on them. It was fun to go back and read through them and laugh at some of the old disasters. I was reading about one day that I remember being a complete nightmare. While I read it I was crying from laughing so hard. It was a nice reminder that eventually I will look back and laugh at many of the disasters and misadventures that I can only endure in the moment.

Not only did I get a good laugh from reading, but I also got a serious kick to the pants reminder of how far behind I get on posting and how many moments I forget. Today's post was sparked by reading a reference to the event in another post, and seeing the picture pop up on the screen saver this afternoon.

I mentioned that I made a fun surprise for everyone for Valentine's Day. I still am not a fan of the holiday, but I do try to make it fun and special for the kids and my fabulous husband. They deserve a special treat now and then.

This year I found a super cute idea to make candy boxes out of cake. Make the cake, cover it to look like a candy box, then fill it with cake balls instead of chocolates. It didn't come out near as neat as Bakerella's but it was still cute. We made red velvet cake balls with cream cheese frosting then covered in white or milk or mint chocolate, chocolate cake with vanilla frosting covered in white or milk chocolate, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting covered in white or milk chocolate, yellow cake with chocolate frosting covered in milk or white chocolate, and yellow cake with vanilla frosting and covered in white or milk chocolate. Doesn't that just make you hungry?
Cute little boys with their goodies they woke up to find at their seats at the table.

The candy boxes with cake balls. One day I will try again. I learned some things that don't work and others that do. Rushing at midnight to get it done does not work. Trying to hide it all and surprise your husband also does not work.

Upcoming posts, more catching up. Man, am I behind!

Coupons!

I try to be good with coupons, I really do. I clip while sitting in carpool. I sort before going to the store. I pile store sales and coupons on top of manufacture coupons. I scour the store ads to plan shopping.

Recently, a few months ago, I stumbled upon a great blog that is helping me out. She's in Texas, but Target and Wal-Mart and Walgreens and CVS are everywhere. She tells you what to buy, where to get the coupons, and how to get the best deals. She even takes pictures of her shopping trips to either encourage you with what she did, or make you feel like a shmuk because you couldn't do as well as she did.

She also teaches you how to organize your coupons. Go check her out. Her shopping will encourage and her stories will make you laugh.

I feel inspired to go to BJ's and get the rockin' double binder that she is giving away. It's on sale for $11.99, but it doesn't come with all her cool stuff inside. Maybe I can fly to Texas for a private coaching session!

www.theivanovskys.blogspot.com

Obsessively Stitching: Kids' Art Apron from Dishtowel -- TUTORIAL

Obsessively Stitching: Kids' Art Apron from Dishtowel -- TUTORIAL

This little apron is so stinkin cute! With my little artsy boys around, this is perfect. Now if only Michael would stop eating the crayons :/

The Pod Swaddler Pattern GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Pod Swaddler Pattern GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I saw this today and thought it was a cute and great idea. I just might have to get the pattern and start making them for baby gifts. You ought to at least go check out the cute baby in the pictures. I just want to rub her little head.

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I so want a cute and fun apron, and now I know where to find one. Thanks to friends for posting it on their blogs so I can snitch it and enter too. Have fun looking at all the stuff on here, but beware, you could spend hours.

A Matter of Cost

This is the year for our trip to AZ for Christmas. We have finally reached the point of being cheaper to drive than to fly, so guess what we are doing. With gas prices being such a bugger lately, we have had the trip in the back of our minds each time we fill up the mom mobile. I just found a cool feature on the website gas buddy that predicts the cost of your trip, depending on gas prices along your trip route. What did we find out? Exactly what we already knew. To fly, we would have to shell out about $3000 for air fare and a rental once we get there, plus figuring in "stuff" while we are out there. To drive, $212.76, each way, for a total of $425.52 plus the possible hotel stop along the way. Gee, which one is better. Even with taking extra time off work, driving is by far the more practical choice. So, now we can go to Pete's for every meal instead of just one. Monster Burgers, here we come. Oh yeah, and we'll see the family too.

What Parents Think

My mom sent this article to me this morning. It made me think and look back on some of my choices. It also made me think about me as a parent. News and Observer says you can't publish the article, but I can give you the link. So, with that in mind, for your reading pleasure, what parents think of their kids. Enjoy, and add any of your thoughts about what parents think of their kids.